Magazine-gun



S. K. HINDLEY.

MAGAZINE GUN.

(-No Model.)

Patented May 29, 1888.

Q m-mm o,

UNiTs ATEN'T OFFICE,

SOLQMON K. HINDLEY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MAGAZINE=GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,641, dated May 29, 1888.

Application filed February 27, 1888. Serial No. 265,514. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON K. HINDLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Combined Breech- Loading and Magazine Fire-Arms,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to breech-loading and magazine fire-arms, and particularly to that class thereof in which a hollow cartridge-can rier block is employed to elevate the cartridges from the lower to the upper part of the gunframe to move them one at a time from opposite the end of the magazine to a line with the bore of the barrel at the rear end of the latter, so that they may be carried into the partridge-chamber of the barrel by the breech mechanism, the object of this invention being to provide an improved construction of the frame and carrier-block of said arms whereby the usual magazine under the barrel is dispensed with, and the substitution therefor of a magazine attached to the side of the frame opposite the carrier-block is rendered practicable, and whereby the arm becomes a more convenient single breech-loader; and the in vention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the carrier-block and frame of the arm, all as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the' frame part of a fire-arm, showing portions of the barrel and forearm and. of the butt thereof, the side of the frame being partly broken away exposing the carrier-block to view, the latter being shown partly in section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the part of the arm shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransverse section about on line a 00, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the carrierblock of the arm, said four figures illustrating my said improvements. 'Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a magazine adapted, to be used with the arm. Fig. 6 is a rear side elevation of the magazine and a side view of a sliding aperture-cover on the frame of the gun.

The description of magazine fire-arms to which the said improvements are applicable is that commonly known as the YVi nchester and the Bullard, both of which employ a carrier-block for the purpose above set forth.

In the drawings, 3 indicates the frame of the arm; 4, the barrel; 5, the forearm; 6, the butt; 7, the carrier-block; 8, the breech-pin; 9, the hammer; 10, the guard lever, and 12 the carrier-block lever.

The essentialimprovements in said fire-arms which are the subject of this application consist in forming an opening or aperture, 13, through the side of the frame 3 opposite the side of the carrier-block 7, of such length and width as to permit a cartridge to freely pass therethrough, and in constructing the carrierblock 7 with a corresponding opening or aperture, 14, through the side thereof, opposite said perforated side of the frame of the arm, the said openings in the sides of the frame and carrierblock corresponding, substantially, with each other as to size and location; or, in other words, registering with each other when said block is down, so that the cartridge may be easily passed sidewise through both of said openings into the lower part of the carrienblock.

The carrier block 7 has a recess, 15, in its rear end near its lower edge to receive the free end of the vibratory carrier-block lever 12, the opposite end of said lever being connected to the guardlever 10, and by swinging the latter the carrier-block is, in a well-known way, given a reciprocating movement trans versely to the bore of the barrel 4, whereby a cartridge placed in the chamber 16 of said block is elevated to a line with the bore of said barrel, and from thence, by the endwise movement of the breech-pin 8, (which is also actuated by said guard-levcr in a well-known manner,) the cartridge is pushed into thebarrcl. The parallel supports or bars at the top of the carrier-block prevent the live cartridge from rising out of the carrier,and make a cradle to receive the shells extracted from the barrel while the carrier is in depressed position. On the side of the frame 3, through which said cartridge-opening 13 is made, is attached a sliding door or cover, 17, which is capable of being moved endwise to cover said opening, and to be withdrawn therefrom, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Said-sliding cover 17 is held under a slotted plate, 18, which is attached to the side of said frame, the slot in said plate permitting of the outward projection of the curved end 19 of said cover 17, which serves as a thumb-piece to move the cover by. On one end of said plate 18 is formed a rabbeted end, 20, the edge of which stands more or less off or away from the ad joining side of the frame 3 at one end of said opening 13, through the side thereof, and at the opposite end of said opening a second rabbeted strip, 21, is attached parallel to said end 20 on the plate 18, said end and strip 20 and 21 being provided for the purpose of attaching a magazine, 22, (see Fig. 5,) to the side of the frame. Said sliding cover serves to pre- 'vent dirt from entering through the side of the frame, and has a teeth, a, on its end to engage with the magazine and prevent it from being dropped off or displaced during the handling or firing of the gun. The said magazine 22 consists of a hollow metallic or other box, having a circular opening, 23, through one edge, for filling the same with cartridges,

7 and a slot, d, in one side near its lower end,

which registers with the opening 13 in the frame 8 when the magazine is attached thereto, and through which the cartridges in the magazine move one after another into the carrier-block 7. On each edge of said magazine 22, at its lower end, is formed a laterally-projecting lip or car, 24, which. two lips engage under the edges of said rabbeted end and strip on the frame 3 when the magazine is held thereagainst and moved downward, and thereby said magazine is attached to the arm and serves the purpose aforesaid, said tooth a on the sliding cover 17 entering a notch in one of the ears 24 of the magazine,as aforesaid.

The above-described improvements in the frame and carrier-block of the arm, whereby the latter is made capable of being supplied with cartridges from a magazine attached to the side of the frame, obviate the necessity of having the ordinary tubular magazine (such as has heretofore been used with said carrier-block class of guns) under the barrel, and consequently the arm is made much lighter, which is essential for military use, and when a loaded magazine is attached the weight thereof is sustained near the butt of the gun and does not tend to weigh down and depress the muzzle of the arm, as does the loaded magazine under the barrel.

In operating the gun as a single breechloader (the magazine not being attached thereto) the cover 17 is drawn off from the opening 13 in the side of the frame, and while the guard-lever 10 is in the position shown in Fig. 1 a cartridge is passed through the sides of the frame and carrier-block into the chamber 16 in the latter. The guard-lever is then swung down and forward, thereby moving the breechpin 8 backward from the end of the barrel and then causing the free end of lever 12 to swing upward, thereby lifting the carrier-block and its contained cartridge upward, and then by swinging said guard-lever back to the position shown in Fig. 1 the breech'pin is forced against the cartridge, carrying it into the barrel, and the carrier-block is again moved downward, ready to receive another cartridge. After the above-described operations the gun contains two cartridges (as a single loader) which are both available for rapid firing, and additional ones can be supplied one by one through the side of the frame and carrier-block with great rapidity.

When the magazine is used with the gun, it is attached as above described, and the car tridges are introduced thereinto one by one through said opening 23 in its edge. The first cartridge put in drops through the magazine and the sides of the frame and carrierblock directly into the latter. The second cartridge lies against the first one and the succeeding ones side by side until the magazine is filled; and ordinarily the latter, having a length of about three inches, contains six cartridges, not including the one in the carrierblock, and therefore if one be placed in the barrel before the magazine and carrier-block be charged, as just described, the arm is provided with eight available cartridges, to be fired with the usual rapidity of a repeating arm.

The convenience with which cartridges can be supplied, one or more at a time, to the mag azine herein shown while the arm is held substantially in a firing position affords many advantages over magazine devices heretofore made, for, if desired, the operator can at moments between firing, if time permits,continue to feed the magazine, thereby preventing so early an exhaustion of its supply of cartridges; and, furthermore, after no more cartridges remain in the magazine, should it be inconvenient to remove it from the arm, they may be fed one by one through the magazine to the carrier-block with the same facility as through the side of the frame. That part of the side of the carrier-block below the opening therein serves as a gate to close the delivery end of the magazine when said block is lifted. The said magazine may be made to hold any desired number of cartridges greater or less than six, its operation with either number being the same.

The construction of the above-referred-to magazine 22 constitutes no part of the improvements claimed in this application; but the same is the subject of another application filed February 23, 1888, Serial No. 265,046.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a breech-loading fire-arm, the combination, with a carrier-block having an aperture in its side of such size as to be capable of receiving a cartridge, and having a longitudinal bar over said aperture through which cartridges are introduced into the block, of the frame of the arm having through one side thereof an aperture corresponding to and registering with that in said carrier block, said block being capable of a reciprocating moveinent between the sides of said frame and in the rear of and transversely to the end of the barrel, substantially as set forth.

2. The frame of a breech-loading fire-arm having an aperture through one side thereof for the introduction of cartridges, two rabbeted strips secured on the side of said frame at opposite ends of said aperture, a carrier-block capable of a reciprocating motion between the sides of said frame, in the rear of the barre], and having an aperture in one side thereof corresponding to and registering with that in the side of said frame, there being a longitudinal bar attached to the block above said aperture, combined with a cartridge-magazine capable of attachment to the side of said frame, and of delivering cartridges therefrom through said two apertures into the carrier-block, sub stantially as set forth.

3. The frame of a breech-loading fire arm having an aperture through one side thereof for the introduction of cartridges, two rabbeted strips secured on the side of said frame at opposite ends of said aperture, a carrierblock capable of a reciprocating motion between the sides of said frame in the rear of the barrel, and having an aperture in one side thereof corresponding to and registering with that in the side of said frame, said carrierblock having a lower chamber for live cartridges and an upper recess separated therefrom by longitudinal bars, combined with a cartridge-magazine capable of attachment to the side of said frame and of delivering cartridges therefrom through said two apertures into the carrier-block, and a sliding cover on said frame having one end engaging with said magazine, substantially as set forth.

. SOLOMON K. HINDLEY.

Witnesses:

H. A. OHAPIN, WM. S. BELLoWs. 

